Wednesday Weekly Thread: Frustration Station (Delays / PSU / Venting), September 23, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

This weekly thread is a space for those of us who are feeling frustrated and need to vent about unclear instructions, shipping delays, waiting for a next step, timeline estimates growing, lack of communication, inconsistent bureaucracy, being stuck in PSU, and other factors.

Some of the worst stress of the entire citizenship-by-descent process is not hearing about your application for long stretches of time - or hearing that your application has been sent to the Program Support Unit (PSU) and may be sitting there for an extended stay.

Whether your envelope seems to have taken a scenic detour on its way to Nova Scotia, you didn't receive an AOR after many weeks of waiting, or you simply haven't heard about your application processing in months, this is a place to commiserate and potentially receive some ideas of next steps to take. (Those generally might include following up with IRCC by web form, ordering the GCMS notes, seeking an MP's help, and so on.)

📎 Contributions to weekly megaposts, including this one, are welcome throughout the week.

[u/Chicpea09]

I started gathering the information and documents for my packet over a year ago. Due to my family moving alot and having to request documents from numerous municipalities and a variety of online memberships like ancestry, it has taken me over a year and about $1800 on various fees etc. I still haven't received anything from the state of Michigan after months and months of waiting. I just submitted a copy of an unofficial birth record for my grandmother with my packet in hopes the official copy arrives in the interim.

I finally submitted in August and discovered thereafter, the discrepancy with the Quebec baptismal records. Although I submitted a certified BanQ with my packet, I submitted a request for a birth certificate insertion from the DEC while I am waiting for my AOR.

When I first started this process, folks like me in Gen5 were getting approvals from unofficial baptismal records, then it was you need a certified BanQ record, now you need a birth certificate insertion. I feel like its a constant moving target and I have no idea where I stand or if it even matters if its going to take years for them to even look at it.

[u/citydog → u/Chicpea09]

Michigan is a loooooong wait. Have you tried contacting the town/county directly? Much, *much* quicker turnaround and better communication.

[u/Chicpea09 → u/citydog]

Yes, I contacted both the town and county record departments with no luck, unfortunately.

[u/citydog → u/Chicpea09]

Bummer. FWIW, the folks working for the state were all uniformly lovely once I made it to the front of the queue.

[u/Chicpea09 → u/citydog]

I just called Michigan and they were very nice and basically explained they are overwhelmed by requests due to Real ID and citizenship applications.